Lost Boy

Debut creator Martin crafts a tale of desperation and resilience in this haunting survivalist graphic novel. While driving home from a ski trip vacation in the snow-peaked mountains of Wyoming, teenage Jack and his father, who have a strained relationship, encounter a doe in the middle of the road. Jack’s father swerves to avoid it, resulting in a fall down a steep rock wall and into a ravine that kills Jack’s dad and the deer. Jack survives the ordeal, but the snow is coming down hard and he has minimal supplies—some flares, a few rations, and his cell phone, which doesn’t have service. Befriending a fawn that he assumes is the deer’s offspring, Jack searches for a way out of the gorge and back to civilization, all the while enduring worsening weather conditions, evading hungry wolves, and navigating the treacherous wilderness. Martin utilizes minimal backdrops rendered in somber blues and blacks with bursts of vibrant reds and fuchsia to portray Jack and the fawn’s journey across the harsh winter landscape. Amid the bleakness of Jack’s situation lies a self-sustaining theme of hope and redemption that buoys this surreal-feeling read to its resolution. Ages 10–17. (Aug.)